Editor's Note: Clarity


You've arrived — the pin on the map, your next destination. You arrived but a few weeks ago, or perhaps a few years ago. Maybe you have since settled in. Maybe you dove in and haven’t settled since.

Throughout your college adventure, you will experience so many things that you neither planned nor expected. Each one of them will change you and shape who you become. Some will be exciting and fulfilling, some might break your spirit and some might be imprisoning and monotonous. You will learn from all of them.

You will push yourself — to prepare for that job, to get into that graduate school, to be successful, to be happy.

Issues in your life will come up. You may deal with them, you may not. You have real life to deal with after all, or so you thought.

We all become enveloped in everyday life. Everyone and everything will pull you in every imaginable direction. And that's okay, sometimes. But don't let the work, the class, the meetings, the future, the people, the pressure, the errands, the snow, the whatever — don't let it overwhelm you. You don’t have to be undercover. You don’t have to hide from it or ignore it. You will probably try to; you may not realize it.

Take a break, have some fun, take in the view, go for a walk, grab a friend and go for a drive. Take some time for yourself, whatever form that manifests for you.

Don’t face your problems alone, and don’t ignore them alone. Don’t be afraid to lean on your friends, to seek help or to just take some time for yourself. Sometimes you just need someone in your passenger seat while you take that drive.

Clarity is necessary, and at the very heart of being a happy, healthy and functional human. Take some time to find it. Talk about and deal with the issues that you will inevitably face. Also, the people who will help you might not be who you thought — that’s okay.

And yes, sometimes things won’t make sense. Thoughts, feelings, happenstance, life, whatever. Things won’t make sense. That’s life, that’s being human. You will make mistakes, it’s normal.

There will always be monsters along the way, but it’s good pain — something you have to endure in order to get to the good part. And sometimes your head or your heart will feel suddenly useless. It doesn’t matter, it’s okay — it’s normal. Don’t allow all of that to ruin your day. If you’ve got the blues, you’ll be okay.

Take a step back, seek and find comfort in clarity — and remember that life doesn’t make sense sometimes. It’s normal. You’re learning. It’s okay.